Bleach: A Time to Remember
by Tetsui
Summary: Ichigo & co. have returned to school, and something is happening. People who are not supposed to be, new characters, and Aizen's plans come to fruition. Who will survive? And more importantly, who is this new taichou really?
1. Prologue

Bleach: A Time to Remember

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and licensed by Viz Media, neither of those things are me.

* *

**Prologue**

**The Powers That Be**

The wind blows in a sideways city. The skyscrapers, all a dark black. The sky, completely white. If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of a voice echoing off of everything.

The voice itself sounds warped and ghostly. It's something you could only hear if you concentrated. But this is not the case for the teen sitting on one of the skyscrapers.

His name is Ichigo Kurosaki, and he hears this voice loud and clear. However, he is not the only person there. A man with long black hair, a scraggly beard, and a long red cloak, so dark it looked black. His name, is Zangetsu.

The man in the cloak stands there, staring upon the red-orange haired teen in front of him, the only one who could hear the voice. And it was still faint to him, yet at the same time, it rang in his ears with crystal clarity. Because it called him.

"Ichi..." the voice said faintly. The voice to him sounded familiar, like he could remember whose voice it was, but the name escaped him. He shouldn't even hear anything in this world. _His_ inner world.

"Ichi..." the voice says again. It sounds different this time though. As if closer. This makes Ichigo stand up. He feels on edge. As if an intruder has disrupted the peace of his world.

"Ichi..." This time, he can make out more. It sounds higher pitched, a girl's voice. It sounded longing. But...why? He looked around and Zangetsu was gone. 'Where'd he go?' he thought. He then felt something. A strong urge to turn around. Yet at the same time, he felt that if he did, he would leave this world.

A hand fell on his shoulder. "Ichigo?" The hand had a strange strength to it and he turned around to meet the intruder.

Ichigo Kurosaki opened his eyes to see he had woken up. He felt a cold sweat cover his body, and his breath labored. 'What the hell was that?' he thought with his mind partially in the dream world. 'Was it a dream? It didn't feel like a dream. Who was she?'

At that moment, his alarm clock rang, and with that, all thoughts of the dream left his head. He got dressed in his school uniform and headed down for breakfast.

He was met with the usual greetings. His father, Isshin Kurosaki, a Shinigami who was officially former taichou of the 10th division of the Gotei 13, and unofficially Ichigo's sparing partner. At least, that's what he thought, jumping from whatever space he could hide himself in and doing a random kick, tackle, punch, or any other attack that comes to mind, before getting slammed into a wall by his son, usually followed by a "Good job, son!" from him. His two sisters, Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki, were already in the kitchen and said a "Good morning, Ichi-nii." and a "Good morning, onii-chan." respectively. Yuzu had once again made a breakfast of eggs and juice.

When done, Ichigo left for school. On the way to said place, he couldn't help but feel like he was being followed, causing him to casually look back every now and then. He couldn't really focus too much though, he was running late as it was, and it's poor conduct to show up late on the first day of a new semester.

When he did arrive however, the commons was still full of students. Before he entered the building, however, he thought he saw a blur of yellow. This made him slightly uneasy, but not frightened or any emotion related to that, except maybe annoyed.

"Ichigoooooo!"

Ichigo stuck out his arm just in time for Keigo Asano to ram into it. Like he did everyday. But also like everyday, he immediately recovered.

"Heeey! You don't say anything about where you've been for the past month, pop back up and expect everything to go back to normal! I want details!"

All while he was ranting, Ichigo just calmly walked away.

"It was nothing, just haven't been around." And that was that.

Keigo just stood there thinking of a way to get some answers when Mizuiro walked up.

"Just give it up, Asano-san, if he wanted to tell us, he would." he said playing with his cell phone as usual.

"Stop being so damn formal!"

* *

Class had started as usual, with everyone getting into their respective seats. However, before class started, Ochi-sensei made an announcement.

"Starting today, we have a new student joining us."

She walks over and opens the door.

"You can come in now." she calls and walks back to her podium.

The person she addressed walks in and goes to the chalkboard and begins writing their name. When the person is done, they turn towards the class. The most notable aspect of the person are their large orange eyes and purple hair.

"Hello. My name is Senna Sato. I just moved here and hope to make friends with all of you."

* *

**Meanwhile in Seireitei**

A meeting had been called by Yamamoto-soutaichou. The only empty places were vacant from the betrayal of Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tousen, and lead by Sousuke Aizen. Every taichou seemed abnormally on edge for some reason. Finally, Yamamoto-soutaichou spoke.

"You are all aware of Aizen's betrayal and the large hole it has left in our ranks. As the winter draws ever closer, and Aizen gaining strength, I have chosen replacements for the three empty positions. Enter!"

The large wooden doors of the hall creaked open and three individuals walked into the immense hall and stopped before the gathered taichous. All of them looked no older than fresh from the Academy.

"State your name and given rank!"

The boy of the right stood up. He had a large build and short cut blond hair. His Zampakuto had a white hilt with a diamond guard.

"Shinji Yarusai, new taichou of 9th division."

The girl on the left stood straight. She had short black hair tied back in a ponytail. Her Zampakuto had a red hilt with triangular design and a star shaped guard.

"Shiki Manase, new taichou of 3rd division."

The boy in the middle finally stood. He had short brown hair and thin framed glasses. He looked to be the spiting image of his predecessor and that made people feel uneasy. He had, unlike most Shinigami, two Zampakuto, one on either side. The one on his left side had a pink hilt and a circular guard, while the one on his right side had a orangish-yellow hilt with a more oval guard.

"Tetsui Ochiru, new taichou of 5th division.."

Normally when new taichous are brought in, there is uproar among the current taichous, dissent, arguments, backstabbing, more importantly, doubt of their powers or even if they had Bankai. In this case, there was none. All 9 taichous had seen what these new Shinigami could do, and there was silence.

**Prologue End**

* *

Author's Note: Yes, I'm filling in the empty division spaces with OC's, but you will see how very.....awesome they are. And yes, Senna is in this fanfic, however, it may or may not have an IchigoXSenna pairing.


	2. Chapter 1

Bleach: A Time to Remember

I own the three new taichous. Nothing else.

* *

**Chapter 1**

**Karakura Town**

"Well, Sato-san, you can that empty seat over there." Ochi-sensei said.

"Thank you."

The seat she was talking about was the seat that always seemed empty, the one next to Ichigo. He believed someone _did_ sit there, he just couldn't remember who it was. Senna walked over and took her seat. Ichigo could sense something familiar about her, but couldn't quite recall what it was. Still, he introduced himself like all the other students do.

"Hey, I'm-" he started.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. I know." she said, completing his sentence.

'Wait, how does she know my name?' he thought.

"Alright class, let's start." Ochi-sensei said.

* *

When lunch time rolled around, Senna was the first out of the class. Ichigo met up with his friends Yasutoru "Chad" Sado, Orihime Inoue, and Uryu Ishida and they headed up for the roof, which was where they typically ate lunch together. Not only because of the fresh air and sun, but if a Hollow or Arrancar attacked, they wouldn't be seen.

When they got there, they set up by the fence and heard a voice.

"Wow, I didn't think anyone would come up here, too!"

When they looked around, no one was there.

"Up here!"

They looked and saw Senna swinging her legs over the side over the doorway.

"What are you doing up here?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing. I just like being up high." she said. She jumped down and walked over to them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We usually eat up here."

"Oh, I can leave..."

"No, that's not necessary. We don't mind, right?" Orihime asked.

"Whatever, it's a free roof." Uryu said. Chad simply nodded and sat down.

"See?" Orihime said.

"Okay." Senna said as she jumped back to where she had jumped from.

Everyone sat and with an "Itadakimasu" began eating..

They talked about random, unimportant things, mostly Orihime's weird taste in food seeing as she was eating something that looked alive, just like most days when they had time off from fighting. About halfway through lunch, Ichigo's attention waned and wound up on Senna, who was still sitting atop the doorway construct.

It wasn't her that seemed to draw his attention though, for some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off of her hair ribbon. It was a long red ribbon holding up her purple hair. She just happened to look toward him and saw he was staring at her. She got a big smile on her face as she jumped down.

"Do you remember?" she asked.

"Remember what?"

"The ribbon. Do you remember?"

"Why would I remember your ribbon?"

"Because you bought it for me, duh."

"Huh? When did that happen?"

Her smile seemed to fade away.

"You really don't remember me, do you?" she asked.

"What are you-"

At that moment, Ichigo's Substitute Soul Reaper badge went off with the sound of "HOLLOW,HOLLOW,HOLLOW." He immediately forgot what they were talking about and got serious. He took out his badge.

"Stay here." Ichigo said. He pressed the badge against his chest. His spirit form left his body as it collapsed. He rushed off followed by Uryu, Chad, and Orihime.

* *

An Arrancar had broken in from Hueco Mundo and had started reeking havoc amongst the local souls. Ichigo & co. had arrived right before it was about to eat another soul. Ichigo came in, sword first like always, and the Arrancar blocked it with it's own sword.

"Orihime, get them out of here!"

"Right!"

Chad summoned the First Form of his Brazo Derecha de Gigante and Uryu summoned his bow, Lone Sparrow on a Silver Cliff, and head in to backup Ichigo.

The Arrancar itself was a large hulking thing, with a line of spikes on either arm and one on each of the knuckles of his fists. His mask looked like a bull's head, and it was pushed back slightly, where his eyes could be seen from the open mouth of his mask.

Ichigo reared back and kept slashing at his sword while Uryu and Chad concentrated on his back. This caused the Arrancar to be getting hit from all angles. Instead of continuing to take damage, he reared back one of his fists and slammed it into Ichigo, the spikes stabbing into his body, forcing him back.

"Ichigo!" Uryu yelled

"I'm fine!" Ichigo said as he tried to get up, blood flowing from his chest. "Just kill this guy already!"

Uryu kept firing on the Arrancar who had started to go after Chad, who had switched to his Second form. "This is taking too long." Uryu said as he reached around his back. He pulled out a Seele Schneider and prepped it. Chad saw this and prepped an El Directo.

Both the Arrancar and Chad charged at the same time, and they collided fists, sending a large blast around the Arrancar, at which point Uryu fired.

The dust was thick around where the Arrancar had been standing and no one could see anything. Suddenly, something fired toward Uryu, too fast for him to dodge it. It was a large, black spike. Uryu tried to block it, but his bow gave out and it impaled him and he fell to the ground.

Chad switched to his Third form just in time to block the hulking fist of the Arrancar, but the spikes still pierced the shield. Chad saw this, but not the large Zampakuto coming down on him. It passed through his blind zone, and sliced off his arm, to which Chad just paled. Then, the Arrancar's fist punched Chad, the spikes on his knuckles then lengthened, and pierced all the way through him. He fell in a puddle of his own blood.

"Ha ha ha ha! Too easy!" the Arrancar yelled.

"Oi!"

The Arrancar turned to see Ichigo, fully recovered.

"But, but how?!"

"It helps to have a medic on the field. Now then, Orihime, take care of them."

"Right!"

She ran to Chad, who had the worst injuries. Ichigo held out his Zampakuto and charged his reiatsu.

"You hurt my friends, and that pisses me off! Getsuga Tensho!"

Ichigo fires the Tensho and the Arrancar tries to block it with his Zampakuto. Surprisingly, to everyone, he actually staved off the Tensho, and then cut through it.

'What? That's not supposed to happen.' Ichigo thought, 'If he releases his Zampakuto, I might have to use Bankai.'

"Is that all you've got!" the Arrancar yelled. "You're boring me!"

The Arrancar then held out his Zampakuto.

"Obliterate, Explosion!"

The Zampakuto disappeared and the spikes on the Arrancars' body grew. The mask shut over his face and extended down his back. He stood on all fours and looked just like a large bull.

'Shit.' Ichigo thought. He held out his Zampakuto." Bankai!"

His Zampakuto shrank and he charged. Orihime was still busy with Chad, so he wasn't going to have any help on this. 'This Arrancar is stronger than it should be, but why? It didn't look much stronger than an Adjuchas, but its' taking down people left and right. What is going on?' "Kuroi Getsuga!"

He fired the black Tensho, injuring the Arrancar, but not enough to slow him down any. He stood up and aimed a punch at Ichigo, but he dodged it and started slashing at the Arrancar at all angles. But it was like the Arrancar could see him, and delivered a crushing blow right where he went next. His fist exploded, sending Ichigo flying back, into the ground.

He tried to get up, but couldn't coordinate his body. The ground shook as the Arrancar walked over to him to deliver the final blow.

"Poor little Shinigami, your friends are dying or proving useless, and you lay here, beaten. Let me end your misery."

He raised up his fist, but when he tried to bring it down, it wouldn't move. Ichigo saw why. Something was wrapped around it. It looked like a mixture of red and white concrete.

"What the hell is this?!"

"Man, Ichigo. You've gotten weaker since I left."

Ichigo looked to where that voice was coming from. At the top of the crater, was Senna.

"Senna! Get out of here!"

"No can do. Can't have you dying on me now, can I?"

"What are you talking about?! Get out of here!"

Senna just turned toward the Arrancar. You could hear electricity crackle, and then Senna disappeared in a rush of fall leaves. Well, she didn't really disappear, but her gigai did. Standing there, was Senna, wearing a Shinigami's shihakusho.

"Oi! Bull-face!"

"What did you call me?!"

"You heard me! You see that guy down there, he's one of my friends." As she talked, the wind started howling. "And when my friends get hurt, I do this!"

She drew a Zampakuto from its sheath.

"Call forth the twilight, Mirokumaru!"

The sword changed shape, into a long spear with priest rings at the top. Ichigo saw this, and a memory flashed in his head. A series of memories. Blanks, Ganryu, the Valley of Screams, everything.

"Senna..." he said with his voice in awe.

"Remember now?"

She jumped into the air, with the spear point aimed at the Arrancar.

"Soudai Kiminari Gufuu!(Grand Lightning Hurricane)"

Wind whirled around the blade of the spear, turning it into a lance, and struck the mask of the Arrancar. It pushed back the Arrancar, but didn't look to be damaging it. She pulled back her Zampakuto and pushed again.

"Sakashima Gufuu!(Reverse Hurricane)"

This time when it struck, a small crack appeared. The harder she pushed, the bigger the crack got. She pulled back one more time, spun the staff and pushed again.

"Kyouraku Gufuu!(Ultimate Hurricane)"

The staff destroyed the mask and sailed through the Arrancar's skull. The red and white restraints the Arrancar was trapped in disappeared into the ground. Ichigo managed to get out of the crater with Senna's help. Orihime finished up with Uryu and started on Ichigo. His wounds were a few broken bones and some burns, so he was healed up in a few minutes.

Senna stood by, back in her gigai, and waiting for Ichigo. He sent everyone back to school while he talked to Senna.

"So, you okay?" She asked him.

"Yeah, Orihime's healing really comes in handy."

"That's good."

Ichigo took a spot on the chain-link fence Senna was sitting on.

"So, how are you back? I thought...I thought you were gone."

"Baka, did you already forget our promise?"

"No, no, that's not it, it's just..."

"Yeah, I know. Honestly, I haven't a clue as to why I'm back either. I just woke up at the cemetery. Oh, yeah, that reminds me."

She jumps off the fence and punches Ichigo's arm.

"What was that for?!"

"You lied to me, my name wasn't there."

'Oh, yeah, I forgot that.' he thought.

"It's okay though. I did find my grave. It was a few rows over." she said, her face softening with a look of a mixture of sadness and happiness.

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah."

It was silent, and Ichigo remembered something.

"Come on."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"That Arrancar was stronger than it should have been. I've got to tell Kisuke."

"Okay."

And they headed for Urahara Shoten,

* *

**Seireitei**

Momo Hinamori had just left 4th Division barracks on the way back to her own Division's barracks. She had just been discharged from the medical wing after another one of her "episodes" that ended with a large smoking hole in one of the walls. Since her barracks were fairly close, she decided to take a detour.

She found herself at a small pond near the 3rd Division's barracks. It was a nice tranquil place she spent most of her time when no filling out paperwork. She sat near a tree and watched the calm pond ripple with the breeze. But then, something broke the silence.

"But you told me it was this way!" a voice said.

Momo turned her head and saw a boy, not much older than herself, walking along the banks by himself. 'What's he doing here?' she thought.

"I swear, you are the worst at navigating. Orihime, I'm sorry, I should've listened to you.....Oh shut up, Hikoboshi! You were wrong, and now we're lost."

'Who's he talking to?' she thought.

He continued walking, but stumbled a bit. He didn't catch himself and fell into the pond. Momo ran over to make sure he was okay.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

The boy got up and started wringing out his shihakusho.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Hikoboshi just pushed me in."

"Pardon?"

"Nothin'. Hey, you look familiar. Do I know you?"

"I don't think so."

Momo mulled over in her head where she could have seen him before, but nothing came to mind.

"Oh, now I remember!" the boy said. "You the 5th Division's fukutaichou! Momo, right?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"Awesome! My luck is so good right now. Hey, listen, I'm kinda havin' trouble getting' to the 5th barracks, I'm new."

"Oh, you're a new recruit?"

"Somethin' like that, yeah. Could ya help me out?"

"Sure, I was heading that way anyway."

"Thanks, Momo-chan."

"No problem."

They walked the rest of the way, but the boy sometimes turned in the opposite direction Momo went, which was a bit odd, but she didn't mind, she liked the company. When they did finally get to the 5th Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya was waiting.

"Oh, Shiro-chan, what are you doing here?"

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou, Momo. Why can't you remember that?"

"But, I like calling you that."

"Fine, whatever."

"Hey, Toshiro." the boy said casually.

Toshiro just turned to him and nodded.

"Shiro-chan?" the boy asked.

"Don't even."

"Fine, fine."

"Well, I just came over to make sure you were okay, but I see you're busy, so I'll leave."

Before Momo could protest, Toshiro was gone. But then something popped in her head. 'He didn't correct him.' she thought. She turned to the boy, who was staring off into space with a smile on his face. 'Who is this guy?'

Momo began walking the boy around the barracks, giving him an introduction to everything that went on here, including the construction division that was set up near the far end of the barracks, and they enjoyed some small conversation.

"So, why didn't he correct you?" she finally asked him.

"Hmm? Why would he?"

"He corrects everyone. Even me."

"You two...together or somethin'?"

She frantically waved her arms in front of her. "No, no, it's nothing like that." She could tell she was blushing slightly.

"Uh-huh. Suuuure. Not like it matters, anyway. Private stuff should stay private. Who cares what people think. Oop, I think this is where we split ways, Momo-chan. This is where I was supposed to come once I got here. I'm actually kinda late."

Momo looked where they were. It was the old office of Aizen-taichou. Looking at it made her sad a little bit. 'But, wait, why would he need to be here?' she thought.

He opened the door and stepped inside.

"Whew, sure is dusty is here. Ah, there it is."

He reached for something. When he had it, he flipped it over his shoulders. When Momo saw it, she nearly blushed when thinking how formal she had been with him. What he had just put on had the 5th Division logo on it. It was a taichous' hoari.

He turned around and stuck his head out of the door. "By the way, the name's Tetsui. See ya around, Momo-chan." He closed the door with a smile.

Momo walked away in a slight daze. The smile he just gave her reminded her of Aizen-taichous' smile. 'He looks so much like him.' she thought.

**End of Chapter 1**

* *

Author's Note: I hope you liked this chapter, it took me a while to write, unlike some of the stuff I do. The whole Tetsui and Momo scene I thought was pretty funny so I thought you might enjoy it too. Yes, the 5th Division was never listed as what it actually _does_, so I thought it might be the construction division, since there seems to be a lot of collateral damage in this show and _someone_ has to fix it. Who was Tetsui talking to? Weeeelllll....that's a plot-point. And yes, I realize in a normal fight, Ichigo would wipe the floor with a lower level Arrancar, but....that's another plot-point. Anyhow....til next time!


	3. Chapter 2

**Bleach: A Time to Remember**

**In some other universe, I do own Bleach, but not in this one sadly. :(**

* *

**Chapter 2**

**Karakura Town**

Ichigo and Senna arrived at Urahara Shoten, and noticed the Closed sign on the door.

"Um, Ichigo, I don't think they're here." Senna said.

"Nah, that's just for show."

He pounds on the door.

"Oi! Getaboushi! Open up!"

The door slowly opened and Kisuke Urahara, proprietor of the shop and former taichou of 12th Division, stood on the other side in his trade mark hat.

"Ah, Ichigo! So good to see you! And who's this lovely lady? I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Ichigo."

"Urusai!" he said as he punched Kisuke in the face.

When he recovered, Kisuke lead them into his shop, which was bigger than it looked thanks to a few things he was able to cook up. They were lead into a traditional looking room and took seats.

"So, what's so important that you had to come and visit in the middle of the day." Kisuke said in his usual playful voice.

"Arrancars." Ichigo said.

The playful look on Kisuke's face went away and he got serious.

"What about them?"

"We fought one today. It was stronger than usual."

"What kind was it?"

"At least a high-level Gillian, at most, an Adjuchas."

"And what do you mean, stronger than usual?"

"Even with Chad, Uryu, and Orihime's help, we couldn't defeat it. If senna hadn't come along, we'd probably would have died."

"Okay, what did it look like?"

"A large bull. It was also covered in spikes that could change length."

"Hmm. Then it was probably an Adjuchas. I'll look into this. If what I'm thinking is correct, we may have a problem on our hands."

"Thanks, Kisuke."

"Anything else?"

Ichigo sat quiet for a second, looked at Senna, then back at Kisuke.

"Is it possible for a Shinenjyuu to come back after they release they're memories?"

Kisuke mulled over this for a second.

"Not that I'm aware of. It's not exactly impossible, of course, but there's never been a report of something like that happening. Why do you ask?"

Ichigo looked back at Senna.

"Hmm. Interesting. This young lady is a Shinenjyuu. I've never seen one up close," he said as he started looking at Senna from different angles, "I would love to perform...experiments on you, with your permission of course."

Now it was Senna's turn to punch Kisuke in the face.

"Pervert!" Senna said when he made...suggestive motions with his hands.

When he recovered, he was all smiles. "I'm just joking. Of course, if you wanted..."

Again, he was punched.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But, yeah, Ichigo, I'll look into this."

Ichigo and Senna left, Senna slightly miffed from Kisuke's antics.

Kisuke just stood in the doorway, watching them leave, with a serious look on his face.

"Hmm. This may not bode well for the future."

He closed the door behind him.

* *

**Seireitei**

9th Division seemed to have a slight misaligned nature to it today. Today, was the official introduction of the newest taichou. Nobody was particularly worried about this taichou, but no one really knew anything about him, other than his name, Shinji Yarusai. An odd name, but given its' bearer, it was best not to point that out until he was seen.

The meeting hall was packed, with Shuhei Hisagi, prepared to greet his new taichou, at the seat customary for the taichou. The room was filled with whispers and speculations, but they were vague enough to reveal true.

When the doors slammed open, the voices stopped, and the young man walked down the aisle. His blond hair was shaved close to his head and his eyes gave a sense of dread to anyone who met them. He made his way to his seat and sat down, his gaze landing on everything before him. He gave off a very intimidating aura that made a few people sweat. Then, he opened his mouth.

"Hello. My name is Shinji Yarus-sai, and I will be y-your new t-taichou."

He had a stutter. And the voice that left his mouth sounded drastically different from his overall appearance. It was a voice that spread over everyone and made them feel at peace.

"N-now then. Addres-ssing the n-new posi-itions, I believe that p-people have a f-fair chance i-in all of th-them. I-if you a-are able to de-de-defeat someone higher r-ranked than you, y-you des-serve their spot. This will c-continue until the e-end of the d-d-d-day. All posi-sitions are o-open except for fu-fu-fu-fukutaichou. Thank you."

He then got up, made a gesture for Hisagi to follow, then left the other division members silent.

* *

5th Division was abuzz with gossip on the new taichou. Everyone in the Seireitei knew who Tetsui Ochiru was, but few knew what he looked like, which was how he got around the barracks so easily earlier that day. When he told everyone who he was and why he was there, almost nobody believed him, but from confirmation from the fukutaichou, everyone was anticipatory.

When Tetsui called the meeting, people were clamorous with what his policies would be. But when he popped into his seat with no one noticing, he felt left out.

"Hey, y'all, I'm here!"

Everyone went quiet. Not even Momo had noticed he had arrived, and she was sitting next to him.

"Yeah, I do that a lot. Alright, my name's Tetsui Ochiru. I'm your new taichou. Now then, first, I don't want y'all callin' me Ochiru-taichou, or nothin' like that, just Tetsui. I don't like them weird formalities for different ranks and stuff. Second, I'm not changin' anybodies rank. If y'all got problems with your seat, or anything really, come see me, and we'll work it out. Third, I know that some of y'all are thinking I look kinda like the old taichou, if ya think this, come see me. I like to work those sort of things out...personally."

For some reason, everyone felt a chill go down their spine. Tetsui just kept on smiling.

"Fourth, I say, live and let live, other than those three things, do whatever. I don't care. Just don't go into my office without knockin' first. I warn you now."

He then stood up and walked away. Nobody even noticed.

* *

In 3rd Division, there were rumors of the new taichou, that varied from rumors carried over from the Academy, to flat-out lies. But by the time the new taichou of 3rd Division called her introduction meeting, no one didn't know the name Shiki Manase, the famed spitfire and second strongest person from her class.

No one really knew what to expect from her, except for a reordering of seats, which was usual for new taichous. Everyone was gathered in the meeting hall, with Kira Izuru, the fukutaichou of the Division, at the ready to see his newest taichou.

However, not everyone was this eager. The Division had gone through two taichous in the last year and were afraid that the spot would only be temporary at best. But when the taichou walked through the door, they couldn't help but feel drawn to her. She arrived at her seat and looked out at her members.

"Well, this sure is an interesting bunch. My name is Shiki Manase. You will address me as Manase-taichou. Any faltering in this will result in punishment. Also, if any of you are wondering about positions, there shall only be one minor change."

The entire room felt relief at that.

"A changing of the fukutaichou and 3rd seat positions."

At this, Kira tensed slightly, although it was to be expected, taichous generally change their fukutaichous with the shift, which he had been half expecting.

"Everyone but the current fukutaichou is dismissed."

With that, people filed out of the meeting hall until it was just Shiki and Kira. Shiki them turned to him.

"Alright, um, Kira?"

He nodded his head.

"It's nothing personal really, but I made a promise to a friend. But, you necessarily won't lose your seat."

Kira made a puzzled look.

"You can come in now!" Shiki called.

The doors opened and a small boy came through. He was a head shorter than Shiki, almost looking like a kid, with a head of thick blue hair, and a Zampakuto that looked to big for him. He looked around nervously as if he were expecting something to hit him.

"Shiki-onee-chan, you really don't need to do this." he said, sounding like he was about to cry.

"Of course I do, otouto!" Shiki said as she pulled him closer to the alter.

"Kira-kun, this is my otouto, Mitsuru. You'll be fighting him today to regain your seat."

Kira stared at the small child before him and thought, 'She isn't serious, is she?'

"C'mon, Kira-kun, let's go."

"But, onee-chan-!"

"No buts, Mitsuru!" she said as she dragged Mitsuru out of the hall.

Kira could already tell this wasn't going to end well.

**End of Chapter 2**

* *

**Author's Note:** I'm not entirely sure whether or not Ichigo has a lot of knowledge on differences between Hollows, but I think he might know a thing or two so I put that in here. Also, if you want to get Tetsui's accent right, it's Osakan. Oh, and the next chapter will feature something awesome. Trust me. Ja ne.


	4. Chapter 3

**Bleach: A Time to Remember**

**Bleach is own by Tite Kubo and Viz Media.**

*** ***

**Chapter 3**

**Seireitei**

The night air was crisp and in the distance you could cicadas chirping. Three people are standing is a training ground near the 3rd Division barracks. The first person was Shiki Manase, new taichou of 3rd Division, the second was Kira Izuru, fukutaichou and the same Division, the third person was Mitsuru Manase, whose rank was as of yet undetermined.

"Alright! Let's start this thing!" Shiki yelled into the night. "Don't let him beat you, Mitsuru."

Mitsuru had a long face and clearly did not want to fight, but he knew that what Shiki says, goes, and drew his Zampakuto. Kira also drew his sword. Mitsuru held his sword in front of him.

"Sorry about this Kira-san." Mitsuru said in a shy voice. He turned his head towards his Zampakuto. "Flash, Kagahito (Fire Mirror)."

A large amount of light erupted from the sword and surrounded everything, blinding Kira. When he regained his vision, in front of him was not one Mitsuru, but six. Five of them went off in divergent directions until Kira was surrounded in a ring.

"I really didn't want to do this." Mitsuru said as he began slowly walking forward. The reiatsu in the air shifted slightly and Kira could fell something bad was about to happen.

"Raise your head, Wabisuke." Kira said. His Zampakuto bent twice into a rectangular shape. "Sorry," Mitsuru said sadly, " but that won't help." He lifted his blade and so did his clones. They brought them down, and six slashes appeared on Kira's body.

His eyes widened at this and jumped away to escape more cuts. The Mitsurus continued raising and lowering their blades, barely even moving from the spots they had started at, and more slashes appeared. Kira tried to block them, thinking it was some sort of illusion, but nothing seemed to work.

Finally, he decided to try to cut down the Mitsurus. He went after one, and cut clean through it. Nothing happened. It was like the Mitsuru wasn't there at all. "Sorry, Kira-san, but that won't work either." Then, all of the Mitsurus disappeared leaving just one, who had his sword in striking distance of Kira's stomach.

"Gomen." He said as he plunged it into Kira.

Kira opened his eyes. He was standing in the same spot he had before the fight began. There were no cuts, no blood, on him anywhere. Mitsuru sheathed his sword. "I won, onee-chan." He said simply, guilt heavy in his voice.

"Oh, don't be like that!" Shiki said as he grabbed her brother and started dragging him off. "C'mon, let's go have a celebratory drink!" "But, but, onee-chan, you know I can't drink!"

They walked away loudly leaving Kira pondering what had just happened.

* *

Elsewhere, in a small dojo area of the 5th division, Tetsui Ochiru, new taichou of said Division, was sitting quietly on a tatami mat, both his Zampakuto sitting on either side. This was the time when he spent inside his inner world, talking to his Zampakuto. Of course, he could always talk to them, and see them for that matter, but here, he could feel them.

His inner world was a pleasant place overall. It was an endless trail with blooming sakura trees on one side of the path, and on the other, glorious oak trees in the peak of autumn. He was walking along with his hands behind his head, talking to the trees.

"So, what do you think of this, guys?" Tetsui asked.

"I believe it is a nice development, Tetsui." The sakura trees answered as their leaves fell to the ground.

"I say it's about time. You've been working for this too long." The oak trees said as they swayed in the pleasant breeze.

"I guess. But really, I'm wonderin' if I'm cut out for this. You guys know I don't like fightin', and honestly, I only joined up cause of Shunsui."

"That's not true." A voice said.

A person walked out of the oak trees and took a seat next to Tetsui. He had short brown hair, similar to Tetsui, and had a kind look in his eyes.

"You joined because you had the strength to do so."

"But, Aniki-" Tetsui said.

"No buts. And stop using that accent. You know it annoys me."

"...Fine." Tetsui said, his accent gone and a very soft tone in his voice.

"Now, don't go doubting yourself. I did not have a quitter for a brother. Just look ahead and keep following the trail. You'll get somewhere eventually." He said as he walked back into the oak trees.

Tetsui opened his eyes, grabbed his Zampakuto, and headed back to his quarters.

* *

Shinji and Hisagi were standing in a training area, breathing heavily. They were covered in cuts and both had their Zampakutos released. Hisagi was holding his Kazeshimi, the blades worn from battle, and Shinji had his Zampakuto. It was called Kikon (Knight's Soul) and was attached to his right arm. It had a blue and yellow metal coloring. A wakizashi blade protruded from the armor covering his wrist.

"Well," Hisagi said, "you're quite powerful, taichou."

"As are you, Hisagi." Shinji said. "Too bad I have to end it though."

Before Hisagi could respond, he heard a crackling in the air, then Shinji disappeared. He reappeared behind Hisagi and hit him with his left elbow, making him crumple to the floor. He looked up and saw Shinji's hand extended.

"Good fight." He said.

Hisagi took Shinji's hand and got up. "Thanks."

They both sealed their Zampakutos and Shinji walked off.

"B-best get some s-sleep. B-busy d-day tomorrow."

Hisagi stood in the quiet, accessing his new taichou's abilities so he wouldn't lose again.

* *

**Karakura Town**

At Urahara Shoten, Kisuke was very busy. He had been going through all of the files he had on Hollows and Arrancar, and had been finding squat. Nothing in the last 100 years had said anything about Hollows and the like gaining power jumps jumps like what Ichigo had described. He pushed aside the files he out leaving one single file left.

The only file he had data of a Shinenjyuu. It was a single sheet of paper, with only a definition of what a Shinenjyuu was. It said 'Shinenjyuu: a physical manifestation of memories of one of more entities combined into one being. Further data is needed.' That was it. But even this made Kisuke feel uneasy.

* *

**Hueco Mundo**

In the shifting sands of this world full of Hollows, a small barrier sits, undisturbed by the chaos outside its dome. Inside the dome, a small person scuttled along the floor, moving to a figure, laying against the ground. This figure was covered in bandages, as if mortally wounded from a great battle.

The small person got close to the figure, and poured a substance on it. A small amount of steam comes from the place it landed and a sizzling sound can be heard. A large hole in the figures side closed slowly, as if it were never there. The person checks the figures breathing, which has returned to normal.

The small person, satisfied with their work for the day, scuttles outside the dome. Outside, the small person is met by two other figures.

"How is he?" one of the figures says.

"Better than yesterday. He's almost healed."

"That's good. We'll need his help." The other figure says.

"Yeah. But without a doubt, we know one thing, he's not gonna be happy when he wakes up."

The clouds move past the sun revealing enough light to show the figure in the dome, with a partial mask attached to the right side of his jaw.

* *

**Author's note:** And that's that. I know, short chapter, but a lot of plot, if you paid attention. Well, that's all for now. Ja ne.


	5. Chapter 4

**Bleach: A Time to Remember**

**I write, not own.**

*** ***

**Chapter 4**

**Start of Demon Arc**

**Hueco Mundo**

Somewhere, in the stirring sands of this hell, in the darkest parts, where not even Vasto Lordes dwelled, something was there. It had been there since the creation of the plane itself. And now, it was hungry.

* *

**Seireitei**

Alarms were going off in the Department of Research and development. Mayuri Kurotsuchi walked into the room with his fukutaichou by his side.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he growled at one of his subordinates.

"There has been a large spike of reiatsu in the world of the living. Something is emerging."

"Is it an Espada?"

"No, sir. It's much larger than that."

"What?!"

* *

**Karakura Town**

Ichigo was in his Shinigami form and racing towards something. Something was giving off a peculiar and powerful reiatsu, and he knew it was dangerous. He found himself being followed by Senna, much to his complaint.

"Oh, get over it. You wanna get your butt handed to you again?" She had said.

Sadly enough, she was right. If this was anything like the Arrancar that had appeared yesterday, he would need all of the help he could get.

* *

A Garganta opened in the sky, and from it, an Arrancar plummeted from it. It was covered in a black and purple substance, like the darkness itself was eating away at its body. It was in a great amount of pain, but only one thing was on its mind.

To feed.

* *

Ichigo and Senna arrived at a large crater in the ground. It was still smoking.

"It can't be too far away." Ichigo said.

A scream broke out and they rushed in that direction. An Arrancar was chasing after a soul. It seemed to have the same reiatsu as the one from the other day, only this seemed...darker. While Senna took notice of this, Ichigo did not and charged in full force.

"Ichigo, wait!"

Ichigo pushed the soul out of the way before it got devoured, instead, he tried blocking by striking the Arrancar in the mask. That did not work. The Arrancar pushed forward, knocking Ichigo from his guard and began clawing at him. However, the red and white restraints Ichigo had seen earlier appeared and wrapped themselves around the Arrancar's arms and legs.

Senna then dropped down and released Mirokumaru.

"Leave this one to me, Ichigo."

She charged at the Arrancar, and was about to strike when it pulled one of its arms free and struck Senna.

"Senna!" Ichigo yelled. "That's it. Getsuga Tenshou!"

He fired the condensed burst of reiatsu at the Arrancar, but it merely brushed it off. Its' eyes glowed red behind its' mask and it drew its' Zampakuto. 'Shit.', Ichigo thought before he was hit with a massive wave of reiatsu, similar to his Tenshou, but deep blood red.

Ichigo was knocked back, shocked and stunned by the sudden attack, that was so much like his own in type, appearance, and power. However, he quickly recovered. When he got back, Senna was up again and fighting it off, but was clearly having difficulties.

'Where is everybody?' Ichigo thought. 'We can't have been the only two to feel this things presence.'

"Sit upon the frosted heavens!" a voice called out.

'Huh, right on cue.'

"Hyorinmaru!"

A flurry of ice and water struck the Arrancar sending it back against a hill.

Above them was 10th Division taichou, Toshirou Hitsugaya.

"What took you so long, Toshirou?!" Ichigo called up.

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou! And I got held up." Toshirou called back, annoyance in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, how about you come help us before we get killed?!" He yelled back.

The Arrancar was up and jumped toward his attacker. Toshirou blocked the slashes from the Arrancars' claws and Zampakuto. 'There's something wrong here.' He thought. 'This Arrancar's movements, its' attack patterns, are nothing like any Arrancar's I've seen before. It's attacks are more primal, less accurate, much more like a standard Hollow.' He narrowly missed getting decapitated. 'What is this thing?'

The Arrancar was again, pushed to the ground. It gets up, and howls a long bellowing roar. The black and purple substance grows more and more, until it finally covers the Arrancar completely. Its' red eyes glow furiously as cracks form in its' mask.

'What the hell?' Ichigo thinks.

Finally, the howl stops, but the Arrancar seems frozen in that position. More and more cracks appear, then, the mask falls away.

'Oh God.' Toshirou thinks. "Ichigo! Get down!"

"What?"

The Arrancar explodes.

* *

In the Seireitei, reiatsu levels spike drastically. The meters crack, and then explode, themselves. In Karakura Town, any person who had the slightest ability to detect reiatsu felt a sharp pain in their heads, causing a few people to go unconscious, and one person to unexpectedly drop dead. When the smoke clears, a large crater was where the battle took place.

Rubble moves and from it Ichigo emerges. He looks around at the destruction in horror.

'What could have possibly have caused that?' He thinks.

Toshirou and Senna emerge from their own rubble piles.

"You guys alright?" Ichigo asks.

"Yeah." Toshirou says.

"I'll live." Senna says.

"What the hell was that? I've never seen an Arrancar explode like that."

"That's because it wasn't an Arrancar." Toshirou says.

Ichigo looks at Toshirou like he grew a second head. "Then what was that we just fought?!" he yells. However, Toshirou doesn't answer. Instead, he looks toward the center of the explosion. Something is there.

The dust clears a bit more, and there, standing like nothing happened, was a small boy, dressed in all black. He has black hair and gray, ashen skin. His eyes matched the color of the red bow tie he was wearing. He had no chain on his chest, and Toshirou looked at him with complete horror.

The boy looked up at them with his bright red eyes and stared.

"Don't move." Toshirou whispered.

"What are you talking about, Toshirou? It's just a kid." Ichigo says.

"Ichigo, just listen to him." Senna says in the same low, whisper, with the same look of terror on her face.

Ichigo straightens out at this point. The boy begins walking slowly toward them. It disappears and reappears upside down right in front of Ichigo's face. Ichigo looks into the small boys red, glowing eyes, and sees something no human, alive or otherwise, should ever see, hear about, or describe to another human, no matter how much they hate them, and he, for the first time in his life, felt absolute true fear.

Then, the boy went back to the center of the crater, opened a Garganta, and disappeared inside of it.

Ichigo then fell unconscious.

* *

**End of Chapter 4**

* *

**Author's Note:** Hurray for creepiness! And no, I will not be telling you what he saw. I'm actually a good human being, despite what some of my friends think. The reason it looks like that? Well, I personally think that looks horrifying. Something straight from my twisted evil mind. And I've set it upon the Internet. * insert Rena's insane laughter here *

If you don't get the joke, look it up on Youtube.

Til next time. Ja ne~


End file.
